1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shed forming mechanism applied to a circular loom, more particularly, to a shed-forming mechanism applied to a circular loom for producing a tubular fabric having a satin weave structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional circular loom, shuttles are moved along a circular running passage, a weft taken out from each shuttle is inserted to successive sheds created before the arrival of the shuttle, and the weft is interwoven with warps to form a tubular fabric, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,836. The conventional circular loom of this type has been designed only to produce a tubular fabric having a plain weave structure, and therefore, the shed-forming mechanism is characterized by a construction for controlling the shed-forming motion of warps in such a way that each two adjacent warps move in opposite directions respectively, in each shed formation to create the plain weave structure.
Recently, the market for tubular fabrics in industrial use has expanded due to its high extensibility if used in a bias. Further, research by the present inventors confirmed that, if a satin weave structure is applied to the tubular fabric, this extensibility is greatly improved. Nevertheless, the conventional circular loom cannot be used to produce a tubular fabric having a satin weave structure, because the shed-forming mechanism of the conventional circular loom is designed to produce a tubular fabric having a plain weave structure, as mentioned above.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a circular loom by which the motion of the warps is controlled in such a manner that the shed-forming motion of the warps follows the one repeat of the basic structure of a desired satin weave structure.